The victim and Tillman, who had been shot years earlier in an unrelated episode, reportedly know each other.

A law enforcement source could not say what sparked the gunplay or whether it was related to an incident minutes earlier in which Tillman allegedly attacked his own girlfriend.

According to court papers, Tillman punched the woman in the face several times, then threw her TV and other items off the seventh-floor balcony of their Holland Avenue apartment. That episode occurred about 12:18 a.m.

When questioned by cops, Tillman denied the shooting, saying that two males in black hoodies fired at Shearin before fleeing, the source said.

Shearin had been on the street for less than two months. He was released from prison on Feb. 12, 2013, after serving a sentence of two to four years for attempted assault, according to online records of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

He also previously served time for attempted robbery and attempted drug sale in an unrelated case.

Advance records show Tillman is no stranger to gun violence.

In November 2006, he and a 14-year-old boy were shot during a gang fight on a walkway at the Mariners Harbor Houses complex. Tillman, then 18, was hit in the thigh. Shearin was not a suspect in that case.